I found this post on Google Groups:
He says NSA is just collecting phone numbers and nothing else from millions of Americans. But what he doesn't tell you is the federal government has a huge contract with ChoicePoint (check out their web site- background checks). Using the phone numbers ChoicePoint can identify the user of the phone and can conduct: Addresses where the user lives and has lived…Race…SSN… Motor vehicle record search… Present employment… Credential verification… Introscan (verify background information on potential employees)… References (interviews with co-workers, neighbors, etc.)Then found:
Senator questions FBI on ChoicePoint contract
Senator Patrick Leahy, of Vermont, blasted the DOJ and its Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) division for a recent five-year, US$12 million contract for ChoicePoint to provide investigative analysis software to the FBI. In February 2005, ChoicePoint announced a data breach after criminals set up fake businesses that purchased private information from the data broker. snip
U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales defended the contract, announced Monday. The ChoicePoint contract represented the best value for the FBI, and it covers software and technology, not data services, he saidhttp://www.networkworld.com/news/2006/040506-senator-questions-fbi-on-choicepoint.htmlLeahy Proposes Accountability Among Compilers Seeking Federal Contracts
Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) took a moment during a Senate hearing to acknowledge the benefits to consumers compiled information has offered. But he took several moments to needle data compilers for sloppy security practices – including those of ChoicePoint and Bank of America by name. Within the last month, both of those companies revealed that consumer data entrusted with them had fallen into unauthorized hands.
In light of this, Leahy suggested that Congress consider privacy and security concerns when doling out federal contracts.snip
Leahy is no outside observer to these breaches: His credit card data was among that of 1.2 million Department of Defense workers contained on five Bank of America data files that were lost in transit in late December. And he had harsh words for Bank of America, which earlier this week said that it used commercial airliners to transport the data tapes that disappeared.http://www.directmag.com/news/leahy-accountability-compilers-031105/index.htmlChoicePoint and the Threat to Privacyhttp://goldenstateblog.latimes.com/goldenstate/2005/11/golden_state_co_5.htmlI'm sure that there is a lot more information out there on this topic.